§ 7. Certificates of appropriateness.

The commission shall follow the United States Secretary of the Interior's formal written Standards for the Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings in its consideration of all applications for certificates of appropriateness for property with an HL historic landmark subdistrict overlay. These standards shall be made available to owners and tenants of property designated as historic.

(a)

A person shall not alter a property designated as historic or property within a historic district, or any portion of the exterior of a structure on the site, or designated adjacent right-of-way, or place, construct, maintain, expand or remove any structure on the site without first obtaining a certificate of appropriateness (CA) in accordance with this ordinance. A CA shall be obtained prior to the issuance of any building permit, although the CA review and building permit and other required permit review processes may be conducted simultaneously. A CA may also be required for work not otherwise requiring a building permit. The CA shall be required in addition to, and not in lieu of, any required building permit.

(b)

A person shall not place, construct or expand any single family residential structure on property within the Historic Grapevine Township District without first obtaining a certificate of appropriateness (CA) in accordance with this ordinance. A CA shall be obtained prior to the issuance of any building permit, although the CA review and building permit review processes may be conducted simultaneously. For the purposes of this section, single family residential structure shall mean new single family residential construction, existing single family residences, and any structure that was originally constructed or occupied as a single family residence regardless of current use. CA review for properties within the township which do not have HL overlay shall be only for compliance with subsections (c), (d) and (e), and shall not include review for compliance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Historic Preservation.

(c)

Prior to commencement of any work, the owner shall file an application for a certificate of appropriateness with the director of development services. The application shall contain:

Name, address and telephone number of applicant, and address of affected property if different.

Detailed description of proposed work.

Current photographs of property (historic photos are also helpful).

Drawings of proposed changes or new construction, and samples of materials, when appropriate.

Other information deemed necessary by city staff for clarification of the project.

(d)

Special provisions for single family residential structures with a historic landmark designation or within the Historic Grapevine Township District.

New single family residential construction, existing single family residences, and any structure that was originally constructed or occupied as a single family residence regardless of current use, any of which are within a historic district, have an individual historic subdistrict landmark, or are within the Historic Grapevine Township District shall comply with the following provisions:

(1)

Submittal requirements. In addition to any other filing requirements, certificate of appropriateness applications for new single family residential structures, and additions to single family structures shall be accompanied by the following documents:

a.

Current photographs of the existing property, showing the full width of the adjacent properties and structures on each side of the subject property. If the subject property is a corner lot, a photograph of the structure directly across the street of the subject property shall be included.

b.

A drawing showing the street facing elevations of the proposed structure along with building elevations of structures on adjacent properties. If the subject lot is a corner lot, the drawing shall also include the structure(s) located directly across the street.

(2)

Design requirements. In addition to any applicable regulations required elsewhere, including but not limited to the Secretary of the Interior's Standards (applies only to properties with HL historic landmark subdistrict overlay), zoning ordinance and building code the following shall apply:

a.

Under no circumstances shall any portion of a roof exceed 35 feet above grade.

b.

Under no circumstances shall the living area of any single family residence be limited to less than 1,200 square feet.

c.

Under no circumstances shall the floor area of all structures on any lot exceed 3,400 square feet.

d.

With regard to subsections b. and c. above, one single story detached garage or carport (or combination thereof) not exceeding 500 square feet, and one single story detached storage building not exceeding 200 square feet shall not be considered as contributing to total floor area, provided all other provisions of all other city ordinances are met, including but not limited to lot coverage.

e.

The total area of the second floor of any structure shall not exceed 65 percent of the total area of the first floor.

f.

Maximum lot coverage for the combined building coverage occupied by all main and accessory buildings and structures shall not exceed 40 percent of the lot area.

g.

Sideyard setback plane. No portion of a structure may extend beyond the sideyard setback planes. For the purposes of this section, a sideyard setback plane is a plane that begins 14 feet above the required sideyard setback line, and slopes upward toward the interior of the lot at a 45 degree angle (1:1 slope).

Exceptions:

1.

Chimneys;

2.

Plumbing and mechanical vents;

3.

Dormers that:

i.

Are not in excess of eight feet in width;

ii.

Are not closer than six feet to another dormer; and

iii.

Do not cause the aggregated width of all dormers on the same elevation to exceed 20 feet in width.

h.

Lots shall not be subdivided such that they are less than 50 feet in width.

i.

Lots shall not be replatted such that the resulting lot width of any lot would exceed by more than 20 percent the average lot width of all single family residential lots of which any portion is located within a 300-foot radius of the boundary of the property being replatted.

j.

In the event of a conflict between any of these requirements and any other guidelines, rules or ordinances, the most restrictive requirement shall prevail.

k.

Front entry garages are prohibited, unless placed on the rear one-half of the lot.

(e)

Not withstanding other provisions of this section, the historic preservation commission, upon recommendation of the historic preservation officer, director of development services and executive director of the convention and visitors bureau may approve minor adjustments to the requirements of this section. However, under no circumstances may adjustments be made to 35-foot maximum building height, 3,400-square-foot maximum floor area, or 40 percent total lot coverage.

(f)

The commission shall deny, approve, or approve with conditions any CA application within 30 days of receipt of a completed application, determining whether the proposed work is consistent with the regulations contained in this section, in all applicable ordinances, and in the zoning ordinance designating the historic landmark. Upon posted notice, and notification by regular mail at least five days in advance to the immediately adjacent property owners as that ownership appears on the last approved tax roll, the commission shall conduct a public hearing on the application, at which time an opportunity is provided for proponents and opponents of the application to present their views.

(g)

All decisions of the commission shall be in writing, stating its approval or the specific reasons for denying or modifying any applications. A copy of the certificate shall be sent to the applicant (by certified mail with return receipt) and a copy filed with the director of development services.

(Ord. No. 97-80, § 2, 8-4-97; Ord. No. 2013-23, § 2, 6-4-13)